Cry for Me
by Kat Kingsman
Summary: AU. Veronica and Lilly were never friends but October Third will still change her life forever. LoVe.
1. Tears

Title: Cry for Me

Fandom: Veronica Mars

Genre: Romance/Drama

Pairings: Logan/Veronica, some Duncan/Meg and Mac/Dick, mentions of Logan/Lilly

Rating: T

Spoilers: general Season 1

Summery: AU. Veronica and Lilly were never friends but October Third will still change her life forever. LoVe.

Disclaimer: All I own is a stuffed unicorn, please don't sue and take my unicorn away…

AN: obviously certain events have been changed and timelines altered, hence the reason I gave it the Big Fat AU Stamp.

* * *

Chapter 1: Tears (1/9) 

"_Any event, once it had occurred, can be made to appear inevitable by a competent historian"_--Lee Simonson

Veronica Mars grinned as she sat down at the table next to her best friend.

"Hey, Mac-attack! What are our plans for this oh-so-wonderful Friday night?" Veronica asked as she handed a tray of food over to the girl with blue streaks in her hair.

Mac sighed. "Nothing," she replied. "This weekend is another camping trip with my family."

Veronica patted her friend's shoulder in sympathy; she knew how much Mac hated camping. The computer genius was much happier indoors with a laptop or curled up with a good book. "The bi-annual rite of torture strikes again?"

Mac nodded. "We're leaving right after school."

"Damn, now what am I supposed to do with my weekend?" Veronica mused.

"Try not to get into trouble?" Mac suggested.

"Me? Trouble?" Veronica tried to look innocent, flipping some of her blond hair over her shoulder.

"Please, Veronica, you always end up in the weirdest of situations," Mac grinned.

"It's not my fault!" Veronica protested. "My Dad's the Sheriff, I can hardly be blamed if helping him out sometimes gets me into those situations."

Mac was about to reply when a commotion at the 09er table caught their attention. They were too far away to hear what was said but the sight of Logan Echolls punching Dick Casablancas was pretty impressive. They watched as Duncan Kane pulled Logan off. He glared at Dick for a few moments before stalking off.

"Huh, wonder what that was about." Veronica turned back to her school provided meal with little enthusiasm.

"Lilly Kane probably," Mac shrugged.

Veronica quirked and eyebrow at her friend.

"Her and Logan broke up again, haven't you heard?" Mac asked.

"Mac, I rarely ever pay attention to the 09er gossip," Veronica said with a headshake.

"Why not? It's like our very own soap opera, sans the television." Mac chuckled.

"It's petty and depressing," Veronica replied.

"Like I said--soap opera. It's free entertainment."

Veronica just smiled. "Whatever you say Mac."

As tawdry and entertaining the lives of the rich and powerful students at Neptune High may be, paying attention to them was a good way to get them to pay attention to you--and never in a good way. Veronica was content to ignore, and be ignored by the 09ers. A lot of people would give anything to be part of their crowd but not Veronica. She had everything she really needed already; an awesome best friend, a good car, and a loving family. In her estimation that added up to a pretty good life. With a Sheriff for a father Veronica saw well enough what happened behind the glittering façade the rich showed the world, and really, she wanted no part of that.

"Earth to Mars!"

It took Veronica a moment to realize that Mac had been speaking to her. "That really gets old after a while," she informed her friend tartly.

"Hey, you stop spacing and I'll stop using," Mac grinned. "I asked you what you were going to do with your weekend now that I'm being forced to answer the Call of the Wild."

Veronica shrugged. "Hit the beach with Backup and help Dad at the station probably. I promise to try and keep out of any so-called weird situations."

"Good, 'cause you can't call me at three in the morning to hack into the Librarian's personal computer while I'm out of town."

Veronica smiled at the memory. "Ah, good times."

Mac just rolled her eyes.

* * *

Saturday dawned bright and clear; a typical October day in Southern California. Veronica awoke a few minutes after noon with a smile. Her plan was to spend a relaxing Saturday doing absolutely nothing so sleeping in, while not her norm, fit into her plan perfectly. She spent the majority of the afternoon editing her photos and painting her toes. Photography was her hobby but it was rare that she got a whole afternoon to devote to it. Veronica was enjoying it immensely. Nothing about the day suggested that in a few short hours an event would occur that would forever change her life. 

The phone ringing caught her attention shortly before six. It was her father.

"Hey sweetheart, is your mother home?" Keith Mars asked his daughter when she answered the phone.

"Nope, she's out with some friends I think." Veronica replied, phone in one hand and the other held away from her to avoid damaging her freshly painted nails.

"Well I'm probably going to be at work late tonight. Will you be alright by yourself?" Keith questioned.

"Sure, I'm just gonna host a rowdy party and smash all the good china," Veronica replied cheekily.

"Very funny."

"And yet I don't hear you laughing," she pointed out. "Seriously though, I'll be fine. I know where the leftovers are and I'll probably take Backup for a run before it gets too dark."

"Alright, be safe," he cautioned.

"I always am," she replied.

Veronica hung up the phone and blew on her nails one last time to ensure they were dry. Her father worried a lot but with all he'd seen as Sheriff she understood it.

The sun had just set when Veronica's cell buzzed in her pocket. Frowning she transferred Backup's leash to her left hand and dug out her phone. The caller ID showed Dad. Her frown deepened; it was unlike her father to call again so soon.

"Dad?" she answered.

"Veronica, where are you?" Keith's voice was unusually tense.

"On my way home, I was taking Backup for a walk, why?"

"I want you to go directly home and stay there, okay?"

Now Veronica was worried. "Dad? What's wrong? What happened?"

"A girl was murdered tonight, I'd prefer you not be out and about when there's a killer on the loose." Keith said seriously.

Veronica gasped. Someone was murdered? "Oh my God! Who was it?" Veronica was sick at the thought it could be someone she knew.

"Lilly Kane," Keith replied after a moment.

Veronica was even more shocked then before. Lilly Kane, daughter of beloved Neptune billionaires Jake and Celeste Kane, Neptune High's own wild-child princess, was dead. Veronica had never known Lilly personally, being a year younger and in a completely different social circle, but no one in Neptune didn't know who Lilly was. Fun-loving and extravagant, Lilly Kane had always been the main feature of gossip. It was impossible to distinguish fact from rumor but, if even half of what was said was true then Veronica had been certain that the girl was indestructible. The thought that someone could hurt her--hurt anyone Veronica knew was both sobering and disturbing.

Veronica quickly made promises to her dad to head straight home and hung up the phone. The shadows that stretched everywhere as twilight moved into true night suddenly seemed ominous and threatening. Somewhere out there a killer lurked. She lead Backup towards her car at a half-jog. Sensing her uneasiness the pit bull whined and growled at every stray leaf that fluttered across their path. Veronica drove home as quickly as possible and did not relax until she had her front door locked behind her.

Still she jumped about half a foot into the air when her phone buzzed in her pocket again. Backup whined and looked around as if trying to figure out what he should be protecting her from. Veronica gave the dog a comforting pat as she pulled out her cell.

"Hello?" her voice was slightly breathless from nerves.

"Veronica?" It was Mac. "You okay? You sound kinda weird."

"Um, yeah. I'm okay, just kind of jumpy is all," Veronica replied.

"Have you been watching horror movies again?" Mac asked, sounding amused.

"No, Lilly Kane was murdered tonight."

"What?" Mac yelped. "You're kidding me? How did it happen?"

"I don't know. I just got the call from Dad myself. I get the impression they don't know too much about what happened yet." Veronica replied, walking over to the couch and sitting down.

"Wow, that's awful," Mac said.

"Yeah, and scary," Veronica agreed.

"Huh. Suddenly the Grand Canyon doesn't seem so bad," Mac remarked.

"The Grand Canyon? I've always wanted to see that." Veronica said, happy to talk about anything other than murder.

"There's not much to see. It's just a big hole in the ground with lots of squirrels where you ride donkeys down to the bottom." Mac replied.

"Donkeys huh?" Veronica asked.

"I'm sore in place I didn't even know existed," Mac confirmed. "I can't believe my parents think this is _fun_. I have to be adopted."

Veronica laughed at her best friend's usual assertion. "It can't be that bad."

"Veronica, trust me, it really is." Mac assured her. "I'm just happy they chose a place with cell reception this time." There was a noise in the back ground. "Sorry, I have to go. I'll see you on Monday, okay?"

"Later Mac-attack." Veronica hung up.

Monday. Monday at Neptune High was going to be chaotic at best. It wouldn't be long before word of what happened got around and there was no telling what the fallout would be. Lilly had been at the heart of the 09ers and her death was going to have a definite effect on the school's social hierarchy. Veronica was certain that despite the tragedy the school's elite were going to use the girl's death to further their own ambitions. Sure they would pretend to mourn their friend's death but the next few weeks would be full of back stabbing and rumor campaigns as the 09er girls jockeyed for position as the new queen. Veronica wondered if one person outside the Kane family would genuinely miss Lilly and mourn her death. It was a truly saddening thought and another reason Veronica wanted no part of 09er life. She'd much rather have friends who'd miss her when she was gone. She headed to bed with the feeling that it was going to be a long week.

Keith did not come home that night and Veronica heard her mother come in around dawn. Lianne was still sleeping when Veronica got up at ten. She wrote off the odd occurrence as part of the strange events that were sure to happen for the next few days. The house was quiet and constricting; forced inactivity always made Veronica edgy. She decided to take Backup down to the beach when the pit bull's whining suggested he shared Veronica's feelings. The beach was a public place and Veronica figured she would be safe enough there. It was highly unlikely that anyone would try something on a public beach in the middle of the morning.

It was another cloudless day in Neptune. The warm breeze and raucous calling of the gulls was in discord with the tense feeling in the air. Privately, Veronica thought that the skies should be dark and gloomy or, at the very least, there should be thunder. The pleasant weather seemed almost disrespectful somehow.

She was so wrapped up in her musing that she didn't notice Logan until she was almost on top of him. She stopped a few feet from the boy sitting in the sand. Tear tracks could be seen clearly on his face and it was obvious that he remained oblivious to her presence. It seemed that she had been wrong; someone did miss Lilly Kane. Logan Echolls had been Lilly's on again, off again boyfriend and while Veronica had always viewed their tumultuous relationship as unhealthy it seemed that Logan had really cared for Lilly.

Keeping and an eye on Backup who was running back and forth in the surf, Veronica cautiously approached Logan.

"I'm sorry," she whispered when she reached him. "My dad will find out who did this to her." They were the only words of comfort she could offer him. There wasn't much one could say to a boy they didn't know that wouldn't come off as trite.

He turned to face her his gaze unfocused, probably due to both the crying and the alcohol she could smell on his breath. He blinked at her, trying to figure out who she was.

"You're the Sheriff's daughter," he said at last. "What do you know?" It was a genuine question and not a dismissal.

Veronica shrugged and tentatively sat down next to him. "Nothing really," she replied slowly, "just that my dad hasn't been home at all since."

She wasn't sure if that was comforting or not but he seemed to find it so as he gave her a short nod.

"I said I hated her, you know?" His voice was listless. "Friday, at school, I said I hated her but I didn't and now she's dead. I was just so sick of her jerking me around all the time, treating me like a puppy, but I never wanted this to happen to her."

"It's not your fault," Veronica said.

"Isn't it?" he countered. "If we hadn't been fighting then I would have been there to protect her." He was talking more to himself then to her, Veronica realized.

"You can't know that," she offered anyway.

She didn't know why she was trying to comfort him, they were from different worlds, but she couldn't stand the sight of someone in pain. Uncertainly, she reached out and touched his shoulder. The contact seemed to break something inside of him and Veronica suddenly found her arms full of a sobbing Logan Echolls. She murmured soothing words as he clung to her. She didn't know exactly how she was supposed to react to this development so she settled for doing what she would do if it were one of her friends. Lightly she rubbed his back, letting him cry into her shirt. No one else must have offered him any sort of comfort, she realized, if he clung so fiercely to the first person to offer any kindness. It made the desire to comfort him even stronger.

For that moment it didn't matter that he was a practical stranger, one of the 09ers she went out of her way to avoid. All that mattered was his pain, his loss and guilt, and the meager comfort she could offer him. Veronica didn't know how much time had passed--Hours? Minutes?-- when he finally pulled out of her embrace.

"Thanks," he muttered, wiping at his cheeks and not meeting her eyes.

Veronica could only nod, having no idea what to say.

"You're dad will find out what happened right?" he asked, staring at the ground.

"I know he will," she said softly. She knew her dad would not stop until the killer was brought to justice.

Logan nodded shortly and rose unsteadily to his feet. "See ya around, Veronica Mars," he said before walking off in the direction of the parking lot.

Veronica could only watch him go, feeling confused. Her brain was working overtime to try and process what had just happened and so far it wasn't having much luck. Had the king of the 09ers really just broke down sobbing on her shoulder? Comforting him had been her natural reaction but now she wasn't so sure it had been a good idea. Still, Veronica reasoned, it wasn't likely that Logan would mention the incident to anyone and as long as she didn't talk about it he wouldn't have any reason to think twice about her again. She resolved to just forget about the whole thing and stay happily out of the 09er's attention. Things would go back to normal eventually, it should be easy enough to do.

* * *

AN: well there's my first attempt at a Veronica Mars fan fiction. Reviews are helpful and much loved! 


	2. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Title: Cry for Me

Fandom: Veronica Mars

Genre: Romance/Drama

Pairings: Logan/Veronica, some Duncan/Meg and Mac/Dick, mentions of Logan/Lilly

Rating: T

Spoilers: general Season 1

Summery: AU. Veronica and Lilly were never friends but October Third will still change her life forever. LoVe.

Disclaimer: All I own is a stuffed unicorn, please don't sue and take my unicorn away…

AN: obviously certain events have been changed and timelines altered, hence the reason I gave it the Big Fat AU Stamp.

* * *

Chapter Title: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (2/9) 

Rating: T

Ch.2

"_Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, it doesn't go away."_--Phillip K Dick

Monday was, as Veronica predicted, chaotic. Rumors ran like wildfire and she heard half a dozen scenarios about what had happened at the Kane estate before she even reached her locker. Her dad had been home only for a couple of hours to sleep so Veronica had no more information than the rest of the students. She gave her best friend a relieved smile when she saw Mac waiting by her locker.

"So, how was camping?" Veronica asked as she stowed away her unnecessary items.

"Less interesting then things have been here I gather." Mac said as the two girls set off down the hall.

Veronica nodded. "It's insane. There are reporters everywhere in Neptune proper and I think the school hired security to keep them off campus."

"Well you know how it is; the worse the news the better the press." Mac shrugged.

"Yeah. Reporters, like vampires, feed on human blood," Veronica agreed.

They passed Madison Sinclair who was loudly telling anyone who would listen how she and Lilly had always been such good friends and how she was so broken up over her death. Veronica shook her head angrily. She doubted Madison could genuinely love a puppy, let alone another human being.

"Ah, and so it begins," Mac sighed.

"Yep," Veronica said. "This week is going to be oh so much fun."

Mac nodded in agreement. "I wonder how Logan's taking it," she mused.

"Badly," Veronica replied absently as Mac stashed her stuff in her locker.

"Huh?" Mac turned to look at her in surprise.

"Uh, I would imagine," Veronica quickly back-tracked.

_It never happened, Veronica,_ she reminded herself firmly. _Never. Happened._

Mac frowned at her but did not press the subject

* * *

. 

Veronica had spent most of last night trying, unsuccessfully, to get Logan Echolls out of her mind. The memory of the event seemed permanently seared into her brain, she had decided not to mention it to Mac--it never happened after all--but she wasn't working through it on her own very well.

She absently pushed her food around on the tray at lunch. Confusing thoughts and appetite didn't really mix, not that the cafeteria food was appetizing to begin with.

"Uh, Veronica, why is Logan Echolls staring at you?" Mac's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Huh?" Her head snapped up. Blue eyes locked briefly with chocolate brown before she quickly looked away.

"Umm, I have no idea?" she offered hopefully.

Mac crossed her arms. "Nice try, Veronica, what's up?"

"Up? Nothing's up." She tried for innocent.

Mac wasn't buying it. "C'mon, I know you, I can tell something is up. You keep getting this weird look on your face every time someone mentions Logan."

Veronica sighed. "It's really nothing. I just sort of ran into him on the beach yesterday and told him my dad would find Lilly's killer that's all." She explained. "He was really broken up about her death. He probably just wants to make sure I don't go blabbing to the whole school."

Mac nodded. "Can't have you damaging his tough-guy reputation. That makes sense."

Logan watched the Sheriff's daughter from across the quad. He'd been expecting the story of him breaking down like a complete pussy would be all over school by first period. Gossip was Neptune High's stock and trade after all, but he hadn't heard a whisper. By third period he had decided that she was probably expecting something in return and was waiting to blackmail something out of him. Instead she wouldn't even look at him, pretty much ignoring his presence all together. He was at a loss. In his experience girls pretty much fit into two categories: malicious gossips and manipulative bitches. Even Lilly, as much as he loved her, had fallen into the latter category.

Veronica Mars on the other hand had offered him comfort with out reason, and seemed to want nothing in return. It was confusing to say the least.

"Dude, why do you keep staring at that chick? She stand you up or something?" Dick asked.

Logan shook his head. "She's Sheriff Mars' daughter. Do you think she knows something about Lilly?"

"I doubt it," Meg replied, coming into the conversation. "Her dad's been at the Sheriff's department all weekend. He's talked to pretty much everyone who came within thirty feet of Lilly."

Logan shifted his attention to Duncan's girlfriend. "Have you heard from DK at all yet?" he asked.

He'd seen Duncan briefly at the station during his own questioning but they hadn't spoken.

Meg shook her head. "No. I called this morning but it went to voicemail."

Logan nodded and went back to puzzling over what to do about one Veronica Mars.

* * *

Veronica had thought Logan successfully avoided until she found him leaning against the front of the Le Baron after school. How he had figured out which was her car was beyond her. 

"Uh, Veronica, your car," Mac said pointing to her new 09er hood ornament.

Veronica swallowed. "I better go see what he wants," she said.

"I'll wait here," Mac replied.

"Coward," Veronica muttered.

She walked over and hesitantly stood in front of him.

"Um, Hi," she said. "Look, I'm not going to say anything if that's what you are wondering."

He smirked slightly. "It wasn't." He looked down at the ground then back up at her. "Does your dad have any idea who--does he have any leads?" he asked.

She relaxed and shook her head. "I don't know, I haven't spoken to him. I promise I'll let you know if he finds anything." _Wait, Veronica did you just _volunteer_ to keep in contact with him? That's a bad, bad idea._

He nodded. "Thanks, you know, for everything," he said after a moment.

"Sure," Veronica replied awkwardly.

He moved away from the car and brushed past her moving in the direction of his own vehicle. Mac approached when he was gone.

"So, what was that about?" she asked and she and Veronica climbed into the Le Baron.

"He just wanted to know how the investigation was going, I think." Veronica replied. "He's not like what I expected him to be."

Mac shrugged. "09ers are human too--at least in theory."

Veronica laughed. "In theory," she agreed.

She hoped that her father would find Lilly's killer quickly, not just for Lilly's sake, but for her peace of mind. Logan seeking her out for information was definitely going to draw attention, and the kind she wanted to avoid.

Lianne was in the kitchen when Veronica arrived home from dropping Mac off. She smiled at her mother, dumping her stuff on the dining room table. There were dark circles under Lianne's eyes but she returned her daughter's smile.

"How were things at school?" Lianne asked.

"Crazy," Veronica replied. "Everyone's got their own theory on what happened. Have you heard from Dad?"

"I talked to him earlier. He called to say he would be at the station until late again. It's just you and me tonight. What do you say to lasagna?"

Veronica laughed. "Uh, yes?" She dug out her math book. "Alas, I still have homework to do."

Veronica wanted to go to Stanford after graduation and while she knew her parents would help pay for it, getting a scholarship would make things easier all around so she had to keep her grades up. She wanted to get her homework done as quickly as possible so she could head to the boardwalk to take some pictures before the sun set. She was sure her dad wouldn't want her out after dark right now and Veronica had no desire to be so either.

By four o'clock Veronica was wandering the boardwalk with her camera in hand. It was used but it served her purposes well enough for now. She was saving up for an new one but she didn't have much yet. Veronica took a couple of pictures of a gull who posed nicely on the pier for her and neat angled shot of the pier itself but nothing else really caught her eye. As a rule she didn't take photo's with people on them, preferring landscapes, architecture, and the occasional animal. People never seemed to turn out quite right in her photos and the way the stared out of the picture had always unnerved her somewhat.

"You seem to be everywhere these days, Veronica Mars."

Veronica jumped when she realized that she was no longer walking alone. She turned to look up at Logan who had suddenly appeared next to her.

"Not really," she countered. "Maybe you just never noticed me before."

"Most likely," he agreed. "Not that I frequent the boardwalk that often, Lilly always thought it tacky."

She could see the pain in his eyes even though his expression remained carefully neutral.

He tilted his head to look down at her. "You're short," he remarked.

Veronica narrowed her eyes. "Maybe you're just freakishly tall." She snapped.

He smirked. That was obviously the wrong thing to say. "Larger than life, huh?"

She rolled her eyes and continued on down the boardwalk.

He caught up to her easily. "You are an odd girl, Veronica Mars," he said.

"You really need to work on your compliments," she muttered crossly.

"I don't give them out often so I'm a tad rusty," he replied, unruffled. "But seriously most people would have used what happened against me by now."

"Maybe the 09ers would but most people I know don't use other people's pain against them." she replied.

He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "But how many of them would go out of their way to see if I was alright?"

Veronica looked up at him, his chocolate eyes intense. She was silent. She usually always knew what to say but he was impossible to predict. She didn't like unpredictable situations.

"Look, if you really think I'm gonna just forget what happened, you're mistaken," Logan said seriously.

"I said I'd keep you up-to-date on the investigation and I will," Veronica said, exasperated. "But it's not like we can be friends now or anything."

Logan raised and eyebrow. "Why not?"

Veronica regarded him incredulously. Did he not get it? His position may be secure but Veronica didn't feel like thrusting herself under the 09ers' scrutiny. She's seen what the rumors and petty jealousy had done to others.

"You're the son of two movie stars, I'm the daughter of the local Sheriff," she explained patiently. "09er," she pointed to him. "Non-09er," she pointed to herself.

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "I'm not suggesting we exchange friendship bracelets and braid each other's hair, but you've yet to come up with a valid reason for why you expect me to just ignore you."

Veronica sighed. "As a rule, I prefer to be overlooked by 09ers."

"See, that right there, definitely odd!" he pointed out triumphantly. "Most people in school want the exact opposite."

"I'm not most people," she responded.

He nodded. "Exactly, and, _as a rule_, I like to get to know interesting people."

She couldn't help but smile at his persistence. "You're not going to go away are you?"

"Nope." He grinned. "Look, I'll say hi to you in the halls, you'll say hi back. It's painless, I promise."

"I suppose," Veronica sighed, giving up.

His look was triumphant. He tugged on her ponytail playfully. "Good. See ya 'round Mars," and with that he sauntered off.

Veronica realized she was becoming disturbingly used to his abrupt entrances and exits. "Exit Logan Echolls, stage left," she muttered to no one in particular.

* * *

"So he wants to be friends?" Mac asked for the fourth time since the conversation had begun. "The most popular guy at school wants to be friends with _you._" 

"You say that like there is something wrong with me." Veronica joked. "I'm a perfectly loveable kind of gal."

"Gal? Been watching westerns with you dad again?"

Veronica switched the phone to her other hand as she clicked on the thumbnail of one of the photos she had taken earlier. "Shut up," she muttered.

"You realize most people would kill for that opportunity, right?" Mac continued.

Veronica snorted. "So I've been informed." She sighed. "Why couldn't he have noticed me back in middle school when I had a crush on him?" She said tragically.

"You had a crush on him?" Mac exclaimed. "You never told me."

"Because you were to busy waxing poetic over the IT guy," Veronica retorted, "and it wasn't a big one."

"No, I spent all of eighth grade having to listen about Duncan Kane," Mac replied. "That was a big one."

Veronica winced, she'd forgotten about that. She wondered how Duncan was dealing with his sister's death. He hadn't been in school but that was unsurprising, considering.

"Yeah, but I spent that year listening to you go on about Dick Casablancas. Any more of that and I would have had you committed." Veronica countered.

"Hey, he's pretty. It's not like I was planning on marrying the guy."

"Bears are also pretty, but they are dumb and violent too." Veronica pointed out.

"To each their own." They'd already rehashed that conversation about a million times before.

"Anyway, my one goal in high school was to avoid the 09ers. Now their leader seems determined to befriend me."

"Take me to your leader," Mac giggled.

Veronica rolled her eyes. She wondered if Lilly Kane had any idea what her death would do to life in Neptune. But, if rumor was true, she probably would have loved it.

The next morning reminded Veronica why Logan's attention was something to be avoided when Madison Sinclair, Shelly Pomroy, and Carrie Bishop cornered her after English.

"Logan was talking to you yesterday." Madison declared as if Logan being within ten feet of Veronica was a serious transgression against mankind.

"It's a free country," Veronica said, trying to figure out a way around the three 09ers blocking her path.

"What did he want with _you_?" Madison asked, distaste dripping from every word.

"He just wanted to ask me about my dad's investigation," Veronica said. "Now move!"

"Just as long as you don't forget your place." Madison said looking down her nose.

Veronica pushed past her, just wanting to escape. "About forty IQ points ahead of yours," she muttered under her breath.

The three girls watched her go.

"Do you really think that's all it was?" Shelly asked.

Madison snorted. "Of course it was, I mean what could Logan possible see in her? We just can't have her thinking it was anything more."

Veronica sat down in her math class fuming. What right did those bitches have to tell her what to do? _09ers think that just because they have money and power they can dictate other peoples lives._ "Spoiled rich brats, the lot of them." she growled.

Mac raised an eyebrow. "Okay, sure, if you say so."

"Huh? Oh, sorry Mac. Madison and the Bitch Patrol cornered me after English." Veronica explained.

"Why?" Mac asked keeping her voice low as the teacher began explaining the lesson.

"Apparently she saw Logan talking to me in the parking lot yesterday and felt the need to make sure I wasn't having delusions of grandeur." Veronica replied.

"Ms. Mackenzie, Ms. Mars, will you kindly pay attention to the lesson," the teacher interrupted them.

Mac shot her an apologetic look and they turned to paying attention to the teacher--or at least pretending to.

This was exactly why friendship with Logan was a bad idea. All it did was draw the attention of stuck up bitches who think they could order her around. But the memory of Logan's pain filled eyes and the way he had clung to her was still too fresh in her mind. She doubted that he had one person who actually cared about his feelings. His parents were probably gone the majority of the time and with friends like sweet little Madison, emotional vulnerability of any kind was out. She wasn't sure exactly why that bothered her so much but it made her want to show him what a real friendship was supposed to be like. The idea was dangerous and she shouldn't even consider it, but the urge was there none the less.

_Veronica Mars, Mother Teresa to the Rich and Friendless,_ she thought with wry amusement. This was going to come back to bite her in the ass, she was certain.

* * *

AN: ok there's chapter two. Hope you like… /_runs and hides/_


	3. A Friend in Need

Title: Cry for Me

Fandom: Veronica Mars

Genre: Romance/Drama

Pairings: Logan/Veronica, some Duncan/Meg and Mac/Dick, mentions of Logan/Lilly

Rating: T

Spoilers: general Season 1

Summery: AU. Veronica and Lilly were never friends but October Third will still change her life forever. LoVe.

Disclaimer: All I own is a stuffed unicorn, please don't sue and take my unicorn away…

AN: obviously certain events have been changed and timelines altered, hence the reason I gave it the Big Fat AU Stamp.

**I would also like to say thank you for all the wonderful comments. I'm absolutely floored by the response this story has gotten!**

* * *

Chapter 3: A Friend in Need (3/9?) 

"_Life happens too fast for you to even think about it. If we could just persuade people of this, but they insist on amassing information."_ --Kurt Vonnegut

Veronica wasn't sure if she should be amused, horrified, or just terribly confused at the sight of Logan sitting at her table at lunch chatting easily with a slightly flustered looking Mac. He flashed her a smirk as she sat down.

"What are you doing here?" she asked bluntly. This wasn't the casual greetings in the hall he'd discussed.

"Slumming it," he replied. "Came to find out what makes Veronica Mars tick."

She glanced over at the 09ers who were looking at her with expressions somewhere between shock and disgust. "What do your friends think of that?"

"That I've temporarily taken leave of my senses," he said evenly. "But here I am, three fun filled stories about you later."

Veronica turned to her best friend horrified. "Mac!"

Mac had the grace to look sheepish. "Nothing bad," she assured her. "Just some stories about things you've done helping your dad."

"Right 'cause that's always ended well." she said sarcastically.

"Well I could have said something about when you were five and.."

"Finish that sentence and I will officially never speak to you again." Veronica glared at her.

Logan looked back and forth between them with interest. "Is lunch always like this with you?"

"Yes."

"No."

They exchanged glares. Logan settled for looking amused.

"See I'm already having fun." he said.

"Yes, but that still doesn't explain why you are here." Veronica persisted.

"Like I said before, I make a point of getting to know interesting people and you, Veronica Mars, are an interesting person."

Veronica just shook her head helplessly.

Despite being certain a meteor was going to come crashing to earth at any second, Veronica found lunch with Logan to actually be enjoyable. They argued over movies they liked or disliked and talked about all those meaningless things people ask about when trying to get to know someone. Both of them, however, were very careful to keep the conversation casual since neither one of them was entirely certain where this fledgling friendship was going. After lunch Logan gave her and Mac a cheery salute and headed off to his class.

"That was interesting," Mac said after a moment.

Veronica nodded in agreement. "That it was, although I have a feeling Madison is gonna pay me another visit soon," she sighed.

Mac shrugged. "He seems nice enough though, if a bit egotistical, and you seemed to enjoy having an new partner to argue with."

"Debate, Mac," Veronica corrected primly. "Argue sounds so tacky."

"Whatever. He definitely could give you a run for your money." Mac said.

Veronica looked thoughtful. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all," she mused. Then she caught sight of Madison at the end of the hall. "Or not."

Veronica squared her shoulders and prepared to head into battle. She and Mac approached Madison, trying not to look like they cared, but before they got there another one of the 09er girls, Meg Manning, Veronica recognized, whisked Madison away. Veronica and Mac shared relieved looks and walked past where she has been and into their class.

Veronica was startled to find her dad sitting at the kitchen table when she arrived home from school. His uniform was rumpled, his eyes tired and he sat clutching a cup of coffee but he greeted his daughter with a smile. She immediately rushed over and hugged him.

"Hey sweetheart." Keith wearily greeted her.

"You look like death warmed over," she informed him.

"Thanks," Keith replied blandly.

"Have you gotten any leads?" she asked, pulling out a chair and sitting down next to him.

Keith shook his head. "Nothing substantial yet. Her parents and brother have been accounted for," there was an odd note in his voice when he said this. "I was looking at her two ex-boyfriends but they both have alibis as well."

Veronica choked on the plural. "boyfriend_s_?"

Keith nodded. "Yeah, Logan Echolls and Eli Navarro." He took as sip of the lukewarm coffee he held. "Eli has a record and she had complained of him stalking her but he was on a community service detail. Logan has gotten into a few fights but he was over at the Casablancas' at the time."

Veronica let go of the breath she hadn't realized she was holding when her father said that Logan wasn't a suspect. She hadn't even considered it with the way he'd broken down, but it was reassuring to hear none the less. The revelation that Lilly Kane had been seeing the biker known as Weevil was even more startling. Had Logan known? And if not, what was she supposed to tell him?

"Veronica, are you alright?" Keith asked, concerned. "Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this."

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I was just trying to work my way through something is all." Veronica replied.

"Did you know Lilly at all? You seem really worked up about this." Keith said.

"I knew her by reputation only," Veronica shrugged. "Everyone at school did." She didn't tell her father that her curiosity stemmed from a promise made to Lilly Kane's ex-boyfriend, or apparently, one of her ex-boyfriends. There was the whole confidentiality thing her father was sure to frown on.

"If you want I can see what I can learn from the kids at school." Veronica offered.

Keith frowned at her. "This is a murder investigation, Veronica. It's dangerous."

"Am I suggesting that I tail thugs in a dark alley? No." Veronica replied. "I'm just saying I can get some back ground information. Face it, they're more likely to talk to me then you."

"I'm not giving you permission." Keith said firmly. A pause, "But if you happened to hear things you'll share them right?"

"Of course."

"That's my girl," he smiled, but that odd note was back in his voice.

It was then that Lianne came into the room. All traces of a smile vanished off of Keith's face. He stood up abruptly.

"I have to get back to the station," he said. He kissed the top of Veronica's head. "Be safe."

She frowned. "I always am," Veronica replied, utterly confused at her father's sudden shift in mood.

He headed out the door without a single acknowledgement of his wife. Lianne watched him go with a pained expression.

"Mom? What's wrong?" Something wasn't right, Veronica could tell.

Lianne's answering smile was forced. "Nothing. You father's just stressed about this case. The Kane family is putting a lot of pressure on the department."

Veronica was not convinced, but she didn't press the issue. Her parents would tell her if it was something to be worried about. Wouldn't they?

* * *

Veronica found Logan at his locker before first period. He was alone but she still hesitated a moment before approaching. She hadn't yet decided what to tell Logan about Weevil but if she was to get information out of the 09ers about Lilly she was going to need his help. He looked up as she approached. 

"Well, look at this, Veronica Mars is seeking me out." He smirked. "I knew you couldn't resist me for long."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Keep dreaming. I need your help."

He frowned. "What can little ol' me do for you?"

"It's more of what you can do for Lilly," she replied slowly. "I need to know what you and the 09ers know about Lilly. There are things they'd tell you that they wouldn't say to my father."

Logan looked down. "Do you think that would help?" he asked.

Veronica nodded. "Sometimes the most insignificant detail can be important."

"Yeah, okay, let me ask around." He said shortly.

"I know this is hard." she said, gently.

Logan shrugged. "I'm just glad there's something I can do to help, ya know?"

She nodded. "I know." She would too, if it were one of her friends.

"So, no 'slumming it' today. You have work to do," she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

He gave her a wry grin. "Alright, give me your phone."

"What?" Veronica looked at him askance.

"Give me your phone," he repeated.

Veronica dubiously handed over her cell phone. She watched as Logan put his number in and handed it back.

"There. You can call me later and we can meet up. I'll tell you what I've learned." He explained.

"Oh okay, thanks."

The bell rung and he gave her another snappy salute as they headed off to their respective classes.

"Is Logan going to sit with us at lunch again today?" Mac asked as they sat in Math class.

"No, he's going to try and get info out of the 09ers, ya know, things they wouldn't tell my dad."

"So you're helping your dad again?" Mac asked.

"Yep. Unofficially of course," Veronica replied.

Mac smiled. "Of course. So, what will you be doing at lunch then?"

Veronica sighed. "I have to see a man about a bike."

"Weevil? Why?" Mac asked.

"Apparently he was seeing Lilly--or stalking her, Dad wasn't to clear about that." Veronica shrugged. "Either way he's more likely to talk to me then my dad."

Mac frowned, but nodded. "Anything you need me to do?"

"Always. Can you hack into the school's system? I want Lilly's attendance records for the last month or so. I need to figure out her habits and such."

Veronica was frowning in thought. Mac recognized Veronica in "processing mode" and only nodded. Her friend wouldn't have heard her anyway.

Veronica knew that Lilly's habits before her death could be a major clue ash to what happened to her. Her dad was great at what he did but she knew that there were things that kids would withhold from him because he was an authority figure. She, with Logan's help, would have a far better chance of getting a handle on Lilly's actions before her death. For now though she had to figure out who all the players were and how they all fit in. Weevil was the outlier in her mental math and she needed to pinpoint his exact relationship with Lilly Kane.

Weevil was a problem in and of itself. Her own strange acquaintance with the leader of the biker gang was enough that he might listen to her but she doubted he'd appreciate her trying to dig into his personal life. Their relationship had always been based on quid pro quo, favor for favor, and she knew she was going to be way in the negative if he decided to help on this one. _I'll worry about that later,_ she thought. _This is more important right now._

"Mac," she said absently.

"Yeah?"

"Get me Weevil's records too, would you?"

* * *

Veronica headed over to the PCH bike gang confidently. It would do no good to show any form of weakness. Weevil looked unsurprised to see her and decidedly not thrilled. Not an encouraging start. 

"To what do I owe this touching visit?" he asked.

"Business as usual," Veronica replied evenly. "Can we talk?"

He nodded sharply and lead her away from his buddies.

"So what do you want?" he asked when they were alone.

"I want to ask you about Lilly Kane."

He didn't even bat an eyelash. "Yeah, I figured, though why you'rr asking me when you can ask your new Rich-boy friend…" he shrugged.

"Logan's helping me, yes," she replied, unfazed. "But I need to know what_your_ relationship to her was."

"What's there to tell? She lead me on then went running back to your Rich-boy at the first opportunity. So I don't know anything. Go ask him." The dismissal was clear, and Veronica decided not to press the issue just yet. She'd need more information before she talked to him again.

She headed back to her usual table where Mac was hard at work on her laptop.

"What do you have for me Mac-attack?" Veronica asked, sitting down.

"Nothing yet. This kinda takes time," Mac reminded her. "The school's attendance records are on the district wide server, it's gonna take me a while to get in and find what we're looking for."

Veronica nodded, "okay." The bell signaling the end of lunch rang. "Call me when you have something."

Mac shook her head, packing up her computer, "I've got study hall next. I'll probably have something by the end of that. I'll email it to you."

"Thanks bunches, Mac," Veronica smiled.

"No problem. It keeps my life interesting." Mac replied.

"Hey, you heard Logan, I'm an interesting person." Veronica joked.

Veronica didn't learn anything from the attendance records other than Lilly rarely ever went to Biology and Weevil avoided Algebra almost religiously. It wasn't surprising though; all she had right now was a lot of data and no scenarios to plug it into. She couldn't really expect things to make sense yet.

She glanced at her cell phone sitting on the table in front of her._ Time to call Logan, I suppose._ It was strange to think that a week ago she's never really spoken to Logan. Now, she had the 09er's phone number. She shrugged and dialed.

He answered on the third ring.

"It's Veronica," she said by way of greeting. "You wanna meet?"

"My hotel or yours?" was the tongue-in-cheek response.

"Not amused. Dog beach?"

"Yeah, give me half an hour," he replied.

"Alright, see you then."

"Bye."

Logan was leaning against a rather atrocious looking yellow SUV when Veronica pulled into the parking lot.

"Please tell me that's not you car," she said, getting out.

"What's wrong with my car?" he asked.

"It's an eyesore," Veronica replied.

He grinned smugly. "That's precisely why I love it."

Veronica just shook her head. She was sure she'd never understand his motivations for anything.

"What do you have for me?" she asked instead.

"Not much," he admitted. "But Meg said that Lilly told her something at the Car Wash, you know the day she died, that I thought might be, I dunno a clue." Logan's voice cracked slightly on the word _died_ and Veronica felt another rush of sympathy for him. That urge to comfort him still hadn't left her.

"What did she say?" She asked gently.

"She said Lilly told her that she had a big secret. She never found out what it was." He added before Veronica could ask.

Veronica bit her lip. A secret? Did that secret have something to do with her death? Logan was right, it was a clue. "We need to figure out what that secret was. Though I should warn you, you might not like what we find out."

Logan smiled humorlessly. "I'm a big boy, you don't have to hold my hand. I know that Lilly wasn't--wasn't perfect."

Veronica shrugged. "That doesn't change how you felt about her, or make anything hurt less."

Logan looked away and didn't answer. Finally he turned back to her, his expression unreadable.

"Come on, I'll buy you dinner, it's the least I can do." He said.

"Do I have to ride in your car?" she replied. "'Cause I gotta tell you, I'm no good to you blind."

He rolled his eyes, the tense atmosphere gone. "Just get in, Mars."

She did, still mock-complaining. "You know if someone sees us they're gonna think we're on a date."

He chuckled. "Let them think what they want."

"Easy for you to say, you don't have to worry about Madison telling you off." Veronica grumbled good-naturedly.

Logan, however, frowned. "What? Has Madison said something to you?"

Veronica shrugged. "She just felt the need to remind me not to get above myself." She snorted. "As if I wasn't already aware of my non-09er status."

Logan looked unhappy. "This is why you were so reluctant isn't it?"

"It doesn't matter anymore." Veronica replied. "I made up my mind and I'm not going to care one bit what she say to me." _I made up my mind to be friends with you._

"I'll talk to her," Logan said darkly.

Veronica shook her head. "That would only make things worse." She smiled. "I'm a big girl, I'll be fine."

Logan wasn't convinced, and he wasn't about to let Madison jeopardize his friendship with the Sheriff's daughter. He was still getting to know Veronica Mars, and he didn't want to stop.

* * *

AN: Well there's the next installment. Hope you like…. 


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